Fiz Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 I wish you the best of luck. There was an absolutely hysterical woman that used to teach our daughters tap and modern. I didn't realise just how bad she was until I heard her screaming at the kids she was rehearsing for a show. I was some distance away and they were behind closed doors. It was appalling. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prancerdancer Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 (edited) Thinking of the worse scenario - if any person has reason to suspect the worse of any person who is in a position of trust with children, in UK then they can go to any police station in UK and ask under Sarah's Law ( CSOD) for disclosure. The police will research the individual in question and will police the risk and share their safeguarding concerns with Children's Social Services, CYPS. The person asking may not get disclosure if their child is not at risk anymore ( ie removed from the school) but other parents might so they can make an informed decision about their child. For example if your child says teacher shouted and a child cried, a parent can go to police and report the teacher under Sarah's law, if the teacher is not known to UK police, a record of your Every Child Matters ECM concern is created and the matter closed but if teacher is known for violence or worse (not necessarily convicted) then a police officer of Inspector rank or above may chose to disclose the 'bad character evidence' in order to safeguard future children. The police will inform the person accused I think which could act as a preventative strategy. This whole area of the law is not being tested because of lack of training and funding and services failing to identify risk as there is no money to do anything about it. Edited August 18, 2016 by prancerdancer 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 That's interesting prancerdancer - I did not know about this. Thank you for sharing. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Fantastic work Annaliesey and Dr dance! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 I've made an info-graphic of my earlier blog post - I'm not a media or design expert so if anyone else can do it better please do, but it's a starting point. Feel free to share on social media etc. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katymac Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 I sent you a Fb message - hope that is OK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 Aaargh it's been too long to edit it - sorry folks there are a couple of mistakes in it. Please use this one if you wish to use any! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annaliesey Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 (edited) Dr dance there's a word missing on the second to last line after the word 'cause' ... ah ... it appeared ... witchcraft? haha Edited August 18, 2016 by annaliesey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 Dr dance there's a word missing on the second to last line after the word 'cause' ... ah ... it appeared ... witchcraft? haha Yes I was kindly informed of the errors in the first one but by the time I'd edited the original in Publisher I was not allowed to edit on here, hence the second post! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfbrew Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 It's really good.I'd like to put it on my school Facebook page with your permission. I've actually been in possession of two safeguarding policies since early this year but it's been time consuming reading everything and trying to draw up one relevant to my particular school which is very much an all inclusive one. And I attended a very interesting safe dance practice lecture last year but drdances Safe Dance Practice guideline is I think one of the best things I've seen that may help parents awareness. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 Please share away! I've put my little copyright logo thingy on. Please can you link to my latest FB page though - www.facebook.com/saferdanceteaching thanks 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annaliesey Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Is there a function on this forum perhaps so that members can contribute to the website but as a private forum? Then we can chat without other people not getting alerts etc or feeling they have to contribute if they don't want to and we wont have our conversation seen by anonymous guests? Also ... we have a website ... www.saferchildrensdance.co.uk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Not that I'm aware of. You can of course use the Private Message facility, but unfortunately that's limited to 5 recipients, which may not be enough for your needs. Possibly something like a Yahoo! or Google Group private mailing list might work, but then you'd have to vet people yourselves to make sure there weren't any anonymous guests (I think any member has the ability to browse the forum anonymously). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooTu Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Is there a function on this forum perhaps so that members can contribute to the website but as a private forum? Then we can chat without other people not getting alerts etc or feeling they have to contribute if they don't want to and we wont have our conversation seen by anonymous guests? Also ... we have a website ... www.saferchildrensdance.co.uk I don't know the ins & outs of how forums work but would a closed or secret Facebook group work for this? Again it would involve admin of that group vetting who they let join the group 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 I would suggest a closed Facebook group too. People can see it exists but have to ask to be admitted, and approved by admin, before they can see posts. I use one for my own ballet school and can thus assure parents that I personally know everyone who is a member even if they are not current members of the school. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieN Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Some links that might be useful: Government documentation on keeping Children safe in education: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2 Ofsted: http://www.safeguardinginschools.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Ofsted-Inspection-and-Safeguarding-from-September-2015-FINAL.pdf Hope they help. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted August 20, 2016 Author Share Posted August 20, 2016 Hi everyone, thanks so much to you all for your support and helpful comments. For all of you who wish to be involved - I think I'll set up a closed Facebook group as that seems to be the easiest was to communicate within a group. If you wish to collaborate but don't have a Facebook profile please do set one up - you don't have to add any other 'friends' and you can set privacy so that no-one can send you 'friend requests'. Give me 5 minutes or so then Safer Children's Dance in groups. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddledMama Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 I love this whole idea, well done Dr dance & Annaliesey!! I think a facebook group is the best way to go, with an online forum, someone can sign up with a random user name and not everyone has their actual name for their email address so it would be a lot harder to figure out who someone was, whereas facebook you have real names (and in most cases faces) so should be easier to identify people. I'm really excited about this whole thing, it is so needed in the dance world, I've had such awful problems with 2 separate dance schools so hopefully this is the start of sorting out the bad apples. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pups_mum Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 I was at a local sporting venue this morning, and whilst I was hiding inside attempting to avoid hypothermia I took a look at the notice boards of the various clubs that use the facilities. They ALL had references to their safeguarding policies and details of their child protection/welfare officers displayed. Plus there were several posters stating things like "sport should be safe and fun for all" and giving contact details for various agencies to contact if you have any concerns. Apparently the NSPCC has a specific child protection in sports unit, which I wasn't aware of. Also, there was reference to the local county council's Sports and Physical Activities Partership. I had a look online when I got home and it seems that many councils have these partnerships and safety/safeguarding are included in their remit. So I wondered if making contact with these organisations might be worthwhile. It sounds as if there might be some quite well established work in other fields that could usefully be tapped into. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 However to counterbalance that we've had an horrendous experience this week with a football training holiday club that Ds attended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted August 20, 2016 Author Share Posted August 20, 2016 I was at a local sporting venue this morning, and whilst I was hiding inside attempting to avoid hypothermia I took a look at the notice boards of the various clubs that use the facilities. They ALL had references to their safeguarding policies and details of their child protection/welfare officers displayed. Plus there were several posters stating things like "sport should be safe and fun for all" and giving contact details for various agencies to contact if you have any concerns. Apparently the NSPCC has a specific child protection in sports unit, which I wasn't aware of. Also, there was reference to the local county council's Sports and Physical Activities Partership. I had a look online when I got home and it seems that many councils have these partnerships and safety/safeguarding are included in their remit. So I wondered if making contact with these organisations might be worthwhile. It sounds as if there might be some quite well established work in other fields that could usefully be tapped into. Thanks for this - we already have a contact made at the NSPCC so hopefully will be seeking advice from the sports team. Perhaps we can convince them to extend the sports provision into dance? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebird22 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Not sure if it's already been mentioned but I think there should be some discussion about what is actually included in the teaching qualifications. I can only speak from my experience of two examining bodies but the difference in what is required to qualify is huge. On one course I have to complete safeguarding training, DBS check, first aid training, child development etc etc, whereas on another although the examining body recommends DBS checks and safeguarding policies for the school overall, the actual individuals qualification involves learning and demonstrating the teaching of the syllabus. I've heard a lot of colleagues saying that the second is the easier and cheaper way to qualify, which it is, but I feel it misses a lot of the "other" elements of teaching. Being able to teach a small sample group of hand selected students a pre-learnt syllabus for 20 minutes doesn't really compare to sitting in seminars about safe guarding and child development, as well as numerous observation classes. all teaching qualifications were not created equally 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 I've just written a blog post about safeguarding and dance... I'm worried it's a bit too controversial so I'd appreciate some feedback, thanks! https://sites.google.com/site/emilytwitchett/blog/keepingchildrenwhodancesafe 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddledMama Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 It's spot on, my DD was at a studio for just under 2 years where humiliation, name calling, lots of pressure, competitiveness and also physical punishment/threats of it were common place. It absolutely destroyed her confidence, her love of dance (I have no doubt that had she remained she would have given up dance by the end of the year), it affected her attitude/behaviour, school work, she was seeing the school councillor because she felt so worthless and down but couldn't explain why (the councillor picked up on her feeling that way most frequently after dance). The psychological effect it has had on her is huge and several months down the line she still has moments of feeling worthless because she is not flexible or able to do tricks, sometimes it's not even related to dance but she will have what I can only describe as flashbacks. Example happened recently, my sister in law (who shall we say has "anger issues") was having a huge fight with my step dad (DD's grandad) which ended up with her screaming the place down and threatening to kill him / have him beaten up etc. I was out at the time and step dad was looking after DD, she ended up locking herself in the bathroom terrified because all she could think about was the screaming and shouting that happened at her old dance school and she was scared she was going to be hit and / or her grandad would really be killed. When I got back she was shaking and crying and just repeating again and again "I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared" (this was about 20 mins after sister in law had left, she was still so badly shaken up) it took a long time to calm her down. Anyway my point is I don't think it's controversial at all, I think it's bang on point and really gets across how severe some of these situations can be, there is a huge difference between say a teacher who screams a correction and a teacher who is just being verbally abusive / using personal remarks. Sometimes it's not even the outright cruelty but the subtle little digs or making them feel like they don't belong or should push themselves in a negative way (no pain no gain attitude) or the pressure of not keeping up and it being pointed out again and again...you know just the million and one small little things that when added up make for a horrible environment that eats away at kids. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 Thank you MuddledMama. I'm sorry to hear of your DD's awful experience. I hope that she can work through it and come out the other side stronger and more resilient. I didn't even touch on the short term and long term effects..... That'll be blog post part 2 I think. Please do share the post if you would like to. I think there are a lot of teachers who are perhaps perpetrators who don't even realise how harmful their behaviour might be. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 It happens in other activities too. My son was recently thrown out of a football holiday club afte going accused of various things like swearing & racism & sexism (thoUgh the coach admitted he hadn't heard or seen anything himself & one of the accusations came from a group of teens who had hired another pitch & who I myself observed looking rather the worse for wear (alcohol maybe) & who were swearing a lot. I found out afterwards that he was told by the coach that he was trouble, a rotten apple who would make all the other apples bad. He was accused of corrupting younger children by listening to gangster music (a kids Pokemon album & Justin bieber) but another child was playing a song by an artist that we know to contain swearing. He was made to sit & watch all the other kids having a water fight but not allowed to take part for the crime (we think we were never actually told) of commenting that he & his friends at home often get wet (after another child had said that they were all going to get wet later with water guns. What disturbed me the most is that this comment was apparently misconstrued into a derogatory comment about girls. It was a privately run club & there is no one I can take things further with. Sorry for the rant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 Oh Pictures, I wish there was a dislike button - That sounds awful, what a horrible experience. I hope your DS is ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Ds has aspergers so there is no way he would have made the rotten apples comment up as he doesn't do analogy. We were very cross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 That's awful pictures. So sorry your son went through that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 What a truly dreadful experience for your son Pictures. I do hope this horrible event does not have a long term effect on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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